Personal computer systems are well known in the art. They have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. Personal computers (PCs) may be defined as a desktop, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unit having a central processing unit (CPU) and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM) and basic input/output system read only memory (BIOS ROM), a system monitor, a keyboard, one or more flexible diskette drives, a CD-ROM drive, a fixed disk storage drive (also known as a “hard drive”), a pointing device such as a mouse, and an optional network interface adapter. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard or system planar to electrically connect these components together. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM's PC 300, ThinkCentre, ThinkPad, Aptiva, and IntelliStation series.
The use of mobile computing devices, such as notebook PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), sophisticated wireless phones, etc., has also become widespread. Mobile computing devices typically exchange some functionality or performance when compared to traditional PCs in exchange for smaller size, portable power, and mobility.
The widespread use of PCs and mobile computing devices in various segments of society has resulted in a reliance on computer systems both at work and at home, such as for telecommuting, news, stock market information and trading, banking, shopping, shipping, communication in the form of hypertext transfer protocol (http) and e-mail, as well as other services. Many of these functions take advantage of the communication abilities offered by the Internet. E-mail, which allows a user to transmit a message to another user, is one of the more popular uses of the Internet, and its use continues to increase.
Another application that continues to increase in popularity is instant messaging (IM). IM systems allow two or more users on computer systems such as PCs or mobile computing devices to exchange messages in real-time (or near real-time). IM systems allow users to maintain a list of other users, called a buddy or contact list, with whom they wish to interact. Using the IM system, a user can send an instant message to any person on their contact list as long as that person is on-line. IM systems typically provide current status information about users on the contact list, telling the contact list owner whether each user on the list is on-line or off-line so that they will know with whom they may interact. This feature is often called presence management. Sending a message to an on-line user opens up a window where each user may type messages that the other user may see, allowing for an electronic “conversation”. Many IM systems also provide chat room capability, where a user can set up a chat room to be shared by multiple users. The chat room operates under the same principles as basic instant messaging applied to multiple users, as each user may type in messages for other users in the chat room to see.
The popularity of IM systems is partially based on the immediacy of IM systems, particularly when compared to e-mail. This immediacy requires both parties in an IM exchange to be on-line at the same time, unlike e-mail. It allows, however, for interactive, back-and-forth exchanges of information without having to perform multiple steps to read, reply, and send a reply e-mail.
IM systems typically provide a choice of different status configurations indicating the user's current status. These status indications will be seen by other users from their own IM programs. If a user is active and available for instant messaging, their status will indicate ‘active’. If a user is active on the system and desires not to receive instant messages, they may also select a ‘do not disturb’ status which will tell other users not to transmit instant messages even though the user is on-line. If a user is logged in to the system but will be unable to respond to instant messages, such as when they are in a meeting, they may select an ‘away’ status. A user may designate a customized ‘away’ message that provides whatever details a user would like, such as how long the user will be away. If a user is off of the system (logged out, etc.), the instant messaging system will indicate that the user is off-line with no status indicator.
These status indications, particularly the customized ‘away’ messages, often do not reflect the correct status for the particular user. For example, a user may set their ‘away’ message indicating that they will be, say, in a meeting for the next hour. The ‘away’ message will remain the same until it is changed by the user. A user often forgets to reset the ‘away’ message when they return from their time away, which can be confusing for other users who are receiving false information about where the user is, where the user may be found, or when the user will be back.
There is, therefore, a need for an easy and effective system to facilitate updating of status messages on an instant messaging system. There is an even greater need for such a system when customized ‘away’ messages are used.